Guido Hettinger has been a self-employed lawyer since 1997. In 2000, he and partners Wolfgang Brehm and Stefan von Moers merged their practices to form Brehm & v. Moers Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB. The firm’s bet was simple: the legal needs of Germany’s media, entertainment, and technology sectors were complex enough to sustain a dedicated boutique. Twenty-four years later, with 26 legal professionals across offices in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich, that bet is still on the books [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF].
This is not a story of venture capital or productized software. It is a case study in professional services endurance, built on a narrow wedge of regulatory complexity. The firm’s practice groups,Media, Entertainment & Advertising, and Commercial Property Rights & IT,cater to a clientele navigating Germany’s dense thicket of broadcasting law, copyright, and youth protection statutes [Brehm & v. Moers]. For a production company licensing archive footage or an advertiser launching an influencer campaign, that specialization is the product.
The Wedge of Regulatory Complexity
Brehm & v. Moers operates in a space where law is not a commodity. Its public materials point to a service built around specific, high-stakes intersections. The firm advises on broadcasting regulation and media contracts, a niche governed by Germany’s Interstate Broadcasting Treaty and a patchwork of state media authorities [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF]. It offers "all-round advice" on internet, online portals, and social media across relevant legal areas, a broad claim that underscores the interconnectedness of digital commerce and traditional media law [Brehm & v. Moers].
One standout focus is youth protection law (Jugendschutz). The firm advises clients "from the product and offer signing phase onwards" on protecting minors, a critical concern for broadcasters, game publishers, and social platforms facing tightening enforcement [Brehm & v. Moers]. This is not general corporate counsel work. It is a deliberate positioning at the fault lines where creative content, commercial ambition, and public regulation collide.
A Partnership Built on Continuity
The firm’s structure is classic German legal partnership. There is no disclosed outside capital, no board of directors chasing growth at all costs. The founding trio,Hettinger in Frankfurt, Brehm in Berlin, von Moers in Munich,remain name partners and practitioners [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF]. The team has expanded to include other partners like Kai Florian Furch and a roster of colleagues, but the model appears built on organic growth and reputation, not venture-scale blitzscaling [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF].
Hettinger’s individual recognition offers a signal of quality. He was ranked by Handelsblatt and Best Lawyers as "Lawyer of the Year for Copyright and Media Law" [2]. In a field driven by referrals and track records, such accolades are a tangible form of traction. They suggest a practice deep enough to generate standout expertise, not just a generalist firm dabbling in media.
| Partner | Office | Practice Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Guido Hettinger | Frankfurt am Main | Media, Entertainment & Advertising; Commercial Property Rights & IT [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF] |
| Wolfgang Brehm | Berlin | Name partner, founding partner [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF] |
| Stefan von Moers | Munich | Name partner, founding partner [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF] |
| Kai Florian Furch | Not specified | Partner |
| Katharina Domnick | Not specified | Lawyer |
The Counterfactual of Scale
The firm’s model carries inherent constraints. A partnership of this size, focused on bespoke advisory work, faces a natural ceiling on scale. Hourly billing and partner attention do not scale like software. The competitive set includes both other specialized boutiques and the large, full-service German law firms that have media and IP departments of their own. Without a technology component or a productized service, growth is linear, tied directly to headcount and billable hours.
The firm’s public presence offers little insight into client roster or financials, which is standard for a private partnership but limits external analysis of its market position. The bet rests entirely on the continued demand for high-touch, expert counsel in its chosen niches. A downturn in media production or a regulatory simplification could pressure the model. Yet, the opposite seems more likely: the legal frameworks around digital content, AI-generated media, and platform liability are becoming more complex, not less.
What Sustains a Two-Decade Boutique
For a firm like Brehm & v. Moers, the moat is cumulative expertise and institutional memory. Its published competencies are a map of persistent, non-automatable legal challenges:
- Broadcasting & Licensing. Navigating the regulatory landscape for television and radio [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF].
- IP Enforcement. Protecting copyrights and trademarks in a digital environment [Brehm & v. Moers].
- Advertising & Marketing Law. Structuring campaigns that comply with strict German consumer protection and competition rules [Brehm & v. Moers].
- IT & Online Services. Contracting and compliance for digital business models [Brehm & v. Moers].
These are not problems solved by a standardized contract template. They require interpretation, negotiation, and, when necessary, litigation. The firm also offers mediation for "complicated and delicate legal disputes within the media industry," a service that trades on neutrality and sector-specific understanding [Brehm & v. Moers].
The Next Act
The question for any established professional services firm is renewal. The founding partners have been at this for over two decades. The next test is whether the next generation of partners,individuals like Furch and Domnick,can inherit and expand the practice’s reputation and client relationships. There is no venture round to bankroll a lateral hiring spree; growth must be funded from operations.
The firm’s longevity suggests a viable, if deliberately paced, business. It has navigated the rise of the internet, social media, and streaming on the back of its original thesis: media law is a specialty. As Guido Hettinger, Wolfgang Brehm, and Stefan von Moers look toward their third decade in partnership, the market they bet on in 2000 has only grown more intricate. For the broadcasters, producers, and tech companies caught in that complexity, a firm that has seen the regulatory evolution firsthand may be the only counsel that makes sense.
Sources
- [PERPLEXITY SONAR PRO BRIEF] Brief on Brehm & v. Moers Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB
- [Handelsblatt / Best Lawyers] Lawyer of the Year ranking for Guido Hettinger
- [Brehm & v. Moers] Firm website, practice area descriptions
- [anwalt-suchservice.de] Rechtsanwalt Guido Hettinger profile
- [rechtecheck.de] Rechtsanwalt Guido Hettinger profile
- [DDC / Deutscher Designer Club magazine, 2023] DE JURE - Von Guido Hettinger
- [BJF-Magazin, 1998] Alles was Recht ist - Arbeitsgruppe
- [Brehm & v. Moers] Lawyers page listing Kai Florian Furch
- [linkedin.com] Guido Hettinger LinkedIn profile
- [Brehm & v. Moers] Lawyers page listing Katharina Domnick
- [Brehm & v. Moers] Firm context for Wolfgang Brehm
- [Brehm & v. Moers] Firm context for Stefan von Moers